Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Neil Armstrong and the Moon Landing by Magaly Chavarria


Did the moon landing actually happen?  On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong took a, “Giant leap for mankind” (Armstrong). This event in history took place after the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik into space, which was the start of the space race. Many believe that it never happened, and it was all a fake. Why is it that the American flag was rippling on the moon? how did they even get past the Van Allen zone? Was the Government desperate to beat the Russians in the space race? Let's analyze Neil Armstrong and the moon landing to find out what really happened.

Character Analysis

 Neil Armstrong, a pilot and astronaut, was known for being the first man to set foot on the moon, but who really is he?  Neil Armstrong, son of Stephen and Viola Armstrong, was born on August 5,1930, in Wapakoneta, Ohio (“Neil Armstrong”). He was an intelligent, 5”11”, brunette, blue eye, who weighed 180lbs. and attended prude University. This statement was from the Armstrong family regarding the death of Armstrong, “Neil was our loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend. Neil Armstrong was also a reluctant American hero who always believed he was just doing his job. He served his Nation proudly, as a navy fighter pilot, test pilot, and astronaut. He also found success back home in his native Ohio in business and academia, and became a community leader in Cincinnati” (Dunbar). NASA Administrator Stated, "Besides being one of America's greatest explorers, Neil carried himself with a grace and humility that was an example to us all. When President Kennedy challenged the nation to send a human to the moon, Neil Armstrong accepted without reservation” (1), after Armstrong's Death.
As Neil Armstrong was interviewed by DR. Stephen E. Ambrose and DR. Douglas Brinkley on September 19,2001, Armstrong responded: I began to focus on aviation probably at age eight or nine, and inspired by what I'd read and seen about aviation and building model aircraft, why, I determined at an early age—and I don't know exactly what age, while I was still in elementary school—that that was the field I wanted to go into, although my intention was to be—or hope was to be an aircraft designer. I later went into piloting because I thought a good designer ought to know the operational aspects of an airplane. (Armstrong) As Denise Chow asked Hansen how Neil was like in person he responded, “Even as a 10-year-old he's essentially doing test flying. He's doing research. He's studying. He had a little notebook as to how far each one of the models flew. He was kind of a proto-engineer even as a boy. Then, of course, he got his pilot's license on his sixteenth birthday. He hadn't even started to drive, or even try to drive an automobile. He was already flying airplanes” (Chow).  This shows how passionate and determined Armstrong was not just as a person but to the things he believed were important and loved.
However, Armstrong was a very private man and wasn’t into much of being in public. As Hansen said, “He was one of the world's most famous figures, but Neil Armstrong famously shied away from the spotlight” (Hansen). It was very rare to get an interview with Neil Armstrong, “Neil was a very private man, and it wasn't easy to get his permission to do the book” (1). Soon to be a major motion picture, this is the first—and only—definitive authorized account of Neil Armstrong, the man whose “one small step” changed history (1).
Unfortunately, Armstrong’s had lost many loved ones, one of which was his 2-year-old daughter. On January 28, 1962, Neil and Janet lost their two-year-old daughter Karen to brain cancer, "I thought the best thing for me to do in that situation was to continue with my work,"(Hansen) said Armstrong. As Hansen ask questions for his book Neil explained how he managed with his daughter's death, "keep things as normal as I could, and try as hard as I could not to have it affect my ability to do useful things." He became an astronaut that same year. Armstrong didn’t really talk about his daughter or what he was going through at that time. The way Armstrong could cope was by continuing to do his job.

Conspiracy Theories
On July 20, 1967 Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first two men who set foot on the moon. However, conspiracy theories were made, and many people believe it was hoax.  The first conspiracy theory was based on a picture showing the American flag having ripples on the moon. According to Time, “The flag's movement, they say, clearly shows the presence of wind, which is impossible in a vacuum” (“Conspiracy Theories”). Many people made their decision based on the famous picture of the American Flag being planted on the moon and having ripples, making it look like it was waving in space. In one of the ABC articles Gina includes; The wrong coating had been applied to the telescoping rod, so it wouldn't fully extend, which is why the flag looks like it is waving in the wind. Ironically, that famous picture of Buzz Aldrin posing next to the flag is often cited as evidence by conspiracy theorists as proof the mission to the moon was a hoax. (Treadgold) Conspiracy theorist claim that the moon landing was faked since it is impossible for there to be breeze on the moon, “The flag's waves, they argue, were created by a breeze in some top secret NASA stage set depicting the moon's surface” (1).
The second conspiracy theory is based on a radiation zone above the Earth also known as the Van Allen zone. Mr. Meade stated, “would have been impenetrable to the Apollo 11 mission without dousing its three astronauts with lethal doses of radiation” (Kettley). He also claimed the Apollo mission which took astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin to the moon was not shielded from the Van Allen zone. Mr. Meade had a few thoughts himself; Guess what? Without nuclear protection, it appears that a biologic life form such as a human cannot pass through these belts. That is, of course, unless there are six feet of lead to shield from the radiation. The Apollo spacecraft had no such shielding. Is this the most simple way to prove that no missions went through the Van Allen Belt? Is this world controlled by sociopaths who have no concern for the truth? That’s the bottom-line question. Have we been subject to a series of lies ever since the 1960s? That’s what Eisenhower warned us about. (1)  According to NASA’s space boffins, “there was absolutely no danger to the astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission because the radiation exposure in the Van Allen zone was minimal” (1). NASA also stated, “dosimeters carried by Apollo astronauts recorded no more than two Rads worth of radiation over the six-day mission – far too little to consider lethal” (1).
The third conspiracy theory was issued from the government being desperate to beat the Russians in the space race. The space race began; when the Soviets launched the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, in October 1957, it set off alarm bells in the Eisenhower administration and created intense fear and anxiety among the US public that the Soviet Union had surpassed the technological achievements of the United States. (“The Start of the Space Race”) As one of the articles posted on EarthSky revealed, “one of the early promoters of the moon landing conspiracy theory was the Fox television network, which, in 2001, aired a documentary-style film titled Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon? It claimed that NASA faked the first landing in 1969 to win the Space Race” (Byrd). TIME also stated; Theorists have even suggested that filmmaker Stanley Kubrick may have helped NASA fake the first lunar landing, given that his 1968 film 2001: A Space Odessey proves that the technology existed back then to artificially create a spacelike set. And as for Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee — three astronauts who died in a fire while testing equipment for the first moon mission? They were executed by the U.S. government, which feared they were about to disclose the truth. (“Conspiracy Theories”) Would the U.S. government really execute people to keep it a secret?
 On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong, “With more than half a billion people watching on television, he climbs down the ladder and proclaims: That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind"(Dunbar). The moon landing took place after the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik into space, which was the start of the space race. Many conspiracies surfaced that it never happened. Why is it that the American flag was rippling on the moon? how did they even get past the Van Allen zone? Was the Government desperate to beat the Russians in the space race? After evaluating these conspiracy theories, evidence points out they may never be solved.












Work Cited
·         Byrd, Deborah. “Apollo and the Moon-Landing Hoax.” EarthSky, earthsky.org/space/apollo-and-the-moon-landing-hoax.
·         Chow, Denise. “'First Man' Writer Tells What Neil Armstrong Was like in Real Life.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 14 Oct. 2018, www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/first-man-writer-tells-what-neil-armstrong-was-real-life-ncna919741.
·         “Conspiracy Theories.” Time, Time Inc., 20 Nov. 2008, content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1860871_1860876_1860992,00.html.
·         Dunbar, Brian. “FAMILY STATEMENT REGARDING THE DEATH OF NEIL ARMSTRONG.” NASA, NASA, 6 June 2013, www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2012/aug/HQ_12_600_armstrong_family.html#.W8XY-GhKjcs.
·         Dunbar, Brian. “NASA Administrator Statement on Neil Armstrong's Death.” NASA, NASA, 6 June 2013, www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2012/aug/HQ_12-601_Bolden_Statement.html#.W8XdXGhKjcs.
·         Hansen, James R. “First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong.” Amazon, Amazon, 27 Nov. 2012, www.amazon.com/First-Man-Life-Neil-Armstrong/dp/1476727813.
·         Kettley, Sebastian. “Was the Moon Landing FAKED? David Meade Weighs in on NASA Apollo 11 Hoax Claims.” Express.co.uk, Express.co.uk, 22 May 2018, www.express.co.uk/news/weird/963446/Moon-landing-fake-NASA-hoax-Apollo-11-conspiracy-theory-David-Meade.
·         Lang, Kevin. “First Man Movie vs. the True Story of Astronaut Neil Armstrong.” HistoryvsHollywood.com, History vs. Hollywood, 10 Oct. 2018, www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/first-man/.
·         “Neil Armstrong.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 28 Apr. 2017, www.biography.com/people/neil-armstrong-9188943.
·         “The Start of the Space Race.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/postwarera/1950s-america/a/the-start-of-the-space-race.
·         Treadgold, Gina. “Why Does the U.S. Flag on the Moon Have Ripples?” ABC News, ABC News Network, abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=97589&page=1








Attachment
·         https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/neil-armstrong-crew-left-over-100-objects-on-moon-weird-1294392-2018-07-24

No comments:

Post a Comment